


Feathers of Sapphire

by bluetoast



Series: Birds of a Feather [64]
Category: Supernatural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-04
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-02-03 09:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1739993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluetoast/pseuds/bluetoast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel knows that Henry Winchester can't really fit into the modern world. He himself has his own issues with adjusting. So the most logical thing to him is to find a place where Henry won't feel lost. When another person arrives, also needing escape - Castiel knows that everything will work out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Feathers of Sapphire

Henry Winchester could never quite understand what had happened in the sixty years he'd skipped over that had made the world turn out the way it currently was. As much as he hated to admit it, he sometimes felt like he was a child in a world that had gone insane. 

Castiel seemed to be the only one who could really understand what he was going through. Much about the world confused him as well. 

The bunker that was the base of the Men of Letters reminded him of of himself as well – it was stopped in time, state of the art for 1954, but now was little more than a relic of a time when things actually made sense. Even if that was somewhat of an ironic statement. Henry didn't like to use the word 'simple' to reflect the time he'd left. He usually failed to see anything simple about it. Perhaps it was less complex, but certainly not simple. 

Elisa Coulter, who hadn't even been born when he vanished, did her best to explain a few things to him. People started locking the doors to their homes after the assassination of the president in 1963. She called that event the catalyst that began the downward trend into what the world was now. A place of locked doors, alarm systems, crime rates that made him feel ill when he watched the news – and a world that, from what Henry could see, was clearly falling apart.

It had been Castiel who had gotten him set up with a new past and a new identity. Not that there was much he could do in this modern world. His last job had been a housing development engineer – planning out roads and neighborhoods full of pre-fab houses. His job before that had been driving a jeep for the US Army. At least he got to keep his name in this new life. 

“What do you think?” A voice cut into his musings and Henry looked up. 

“It's a big house, Cas.” He held onto the bannister and looked up at the floor above him. “I still don't know why we're down here looking an old house.”

“I told you.” The angel came over and sat down on the steps, smiling faintly. “I think we can do something with this and I am tired of helping adults with hoarding disorders.”

“You've only been doing that for what, five years?” He sat down next to him. “Although I imagine it can be frustrating.”

“I hate seeing people do that to themselves.” He shook his head. “But here, here we can do something.”

“It's an old house between San Antonio and Houston. What are you thinking of doing with it?” Henry coughed. “It'll take weeks just to clean it.”

Castiel grinned. “No, it won't.” He sighed. “As for what I think we should do with it – I was thinking something along the lines of a Bed and Breakfast.”

Henry snorted. “Like that's going to go over with anyone.”

“Why not?” The angel blinked. “I assure you that the world has progressed to a point where many people are not going to think twice about two men running such an establishment.”

“Well, I have to get my head around it.” He stood up. “What do I know about running a bed and breakfast anyway?”

“You know the style and architecture of the building.” The angel stood as well. “I believe you would be, for lack of a better term – co-owner and head of maintenance.” He shrugged. “Making me the other co-owner and in charge of food.”

“Well, it's not like there aren't enough bathrooms.” Henry walked down into the hallway, wincing at the few creaks he heard. “I suppose we could make it work.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I don't suppose you have a name picked out for this place, do you?”

“We can worry about that later.” The angel ran his hand along the bannister and the dust vanished as it made contact with his skin. “For now, we have work to do.”

**  
Having something to do turned out to be the best way to keep his mind off all that had happened. Despite its age, Henry found the house to be in mostly decent condition, requiring only a few repairs that he handled with ease. He was rather stunned when Dean informed him that the 'few repairs' he'd fixed with just the cost of materials would have been at least six times the value of the parts. Clearly, most people didn't learn how to fix things on their own anymore. 

Even though they were supposed to be partners on this endeavor, Henry found that Castiel still had patients to take care of and was often gone. It wasn't so bad – he could work on the house and listen to music that he liked without commentary. He was in the middle of working on the front room when a sharp knock echoed through the house. He frowned, since he wasn't expecting company. He turned down the stereo and went to the front door, shaking his head when there was a second knock. “I'm coming.” He peered through the glass and saw a red-headed young woman standing there. “Odd.” He opened the door. “May I help you?”

“Hi, are you Henry?” The girl held out her hand and Henry was careful not to think to much on her attire. He took her hand and shook it.

“Yes, how may I help you?” He paused. “Wait, are you Charlie?”

“That I am!” She grinned, all the brighter. “Did Cas tell you I was coming?”

“Yes, but uh...” He opened the door to let her in. “Sorry, it's just when he told me your name, I assume you were a boy.”

“That's okay.” She set her bag down, still grinning. “I want to thank you for letting me have this job. I've had enough of working tech support for people who don't know that if they just restart the computer, it will work just fine.”

Henry didn't want to tell her about the trouble he still had with computers. “Electrical specialist, right?”

“Yup.” She turned around in the foyer. “Wow. I don't suppose there's a wardrobe to Narnia in this place, is there?”

He scoffed. “No. And I already checked for hobbit holes as well. I think you can only find those in England.”

“Shame.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I'm going to take a look around, see what needs to be done in terms of wiring and such.”

“All right. Don't go into the front bedroom on the left side upstairs. I applied the stain to the floor yesterday afternoon and it's still drying.”

“Got it.” She dug something out of her bag and he went back to the parlor to work.

*  
Castiel had known what he was doing when he set Henry Winchester and Charlie Middleton up in that old house in Creedmore, Texas. Henry couldn't live well in the outside world and Charlie needed to escape that same world. There was something rather endearing about the way Henry and Charlie interacted with each other – it was rather like an older brother with a know-it-all little sister. 

The angel let himself into the nearly finished house and sighed. The air was thick with the smell of paint, varnish and Pine Sol. “Is anyone here?”

“Kitchen.” Charlie's voice called out from the back. “If you don't tell us how you want this kitchen arranged, Cas – you might find yourself cooking with nothing more than a microwave and a hot plate.”

As he came into the kitchen, he noted that Henry was doing his best to conceal his laughter. “You forgot to add a toaster. Can't have those Pop-tart things without a toaster.”

The girl made a face at him. “Don't try to be sarcastic, Hartnell, it doesn't suit you.”

“Who is Hartnell?” Castiel frowned. “Did you acquire another name, Henry?”

This, for some reason, caused both of the humans to burst into laughter. It was worse than when Liesel and Georgiana did it. “Sorry, Cas.” Henry stood and went over to the fridge. “You want some tea?”

“Please.” He set down the carrier he was holding on the floor and then put his coat over a stool. “I do like the kitchen the way it is.”

Charlie leaned down in her chair, towards the carrier. “Who's your friend, Cas?”

The angel smiled as Henry handed him a glass of tea and he took a sip of it. “I hope you two don't mind.” He bent down, opened the carrier and drew out a small gray cat. “This is Khaleesi – a woman I was helping wanted me to take her in.” He rubbed the animal's chin thoughtfully. “But Percy and Penny didn't like her very much.”

“Khaleesi?” The girl folded her arms. “Don't tell me you actually picked that name out for her.”

“So what if I did?” He frowned. “I assure you, as traumatizing and as bloody as that series is, I have seen worse.”

Charlie was about to issue a retort when Henry broke in. “I'd let it go, Char. Cas most likely wrote a letter to HBO telling them that their _Rome_ series wasn't violent enough.” He took a swing from his own glass of iced tea. “And I was at Normandy.”

“You two are impossible, you know that?” She took the cat from Cas. “Although, she's a cute little thing.” 

“So it's settled then.” Cas went to the table and sat down. “What were you two discussing before I came back? I'm guessing it wasn't the kitchen.”

“The name of this place.” Henry said. “Although we weren't being particularly serious in our choices.”

“I see.” He closed his hands around the glass, looking from one human to the other. “I have an idea. And it's rather appropriate.”

“What's that?” Charlie asked, coming to sit at the table as well.

“Because it describes exactly how the three of us all ended up here. In exactly the place I feel we needed to be.” 

*

Down a single lane highway in Texas, off the beaten path, there is a sign at the side of the road. It hangs from a tall post, waving faintly in the breeze. At it's base, there are well trimmed yellow knock-out roses, accenting the dark wood of the sign and drawing attention straight to it. It was just outside of town, used as a landmark for visitors and locals alike. Although many wondered about its name – it wasn't the sort of name a place as good as that should have. 

Home of what might be the best waffles in Texas, definitely the most friendly of staffs and one of the best restorations in years – The Simple Twist of Fate Bed and Breakfast – always gave what they advertised – the most relaxing vacation you can ever have.


End file.
